ASK HN: How to consistently work 60+ hrs a week?

[lonely_rebel]

I've worked 80+ hrs a week before (did it for 4 consecutive weeks) after that I completely burned out! My productivity the next month was ZERO!

I really really want to improve my productivity and stay consistent producing 60+ hrs a week.

I use rescuetime to track productivity.

So what are some tricks and routines i can put in place to achieve this?

I'm in the creative field - So Strict routines will hinder my creativity.

I've tried

Dividing the day into 4 parts - 3 hour chunks in each part.

Annd also i've pretty much zero social life already..SO i won't really mind too much if you can help me create a 80+ hr routine !

[exolymph]

In my experience, you just can't work productively for that long every day. Can I ask why you're trying to work so much? What's the actual end goal here?

[lonely_rebel → exolymph]

I'm broke and wanna get rich!

[exolymph → lonely_rebel]

I think it would be better to optimize for high-quality output instead of sheer number of hours worked. Especially since you say you're a creative.

[jeffmould]

Break up your time with exercise. Even if to get out and take a short walk for 15 minutes. Exercise will do wonders for your productivity. Whenever I feel myself slumping in the day I usually go for a walk or find something else to do that is not work related.

Eat healthy and avoid lots of caffeine. The caffeine is tough for me, but I try to avoid heavy sugars and I don't drink soda. I noticed a huge difference in my energy simply by cutting out (or at least reducing significantly) high fructose corn syrup from my diet (no sodas and a lot of sweet "junk" food).

With exercise and diet it is not an overnight process though and may take you a few months for your body to adjust before you really start noticing the differences.

[smaddox → jeffmould]

Taking the diet advice above a bit further, you might consider trying a Keto diet, which is a high fat low carb diet. Keto diets eliminate the blood sugar swings that cause highs and crashes throughout the day, making it significantly easier to focus for long periods of time.

Reddit.com/r/keto has a lot of great resources for learning more.

[lonely_rebel → jeffmould]

Thanks!

Can you please share your average daily routine? And how many hours do you work everyday!

[jeffmould → lonely_rebel]

For me I usually get up between 5-6am everyday. I usually head straight to Starbucks for coffee. I work from home and actually do this more for the morning social interaction now. I usually run into a few people I know and we sit/talk for about an hour. I come home do email and prioritize my day. I also eat breakfast.

About 10ish I go for a walk/run of about 6 miles. I started this about 3 years ago and when I first started I (a) couldn't go nearly that far even though I had been active in my younger years; and (b) only went when I felt like going. After about 3-4 months though, it became an integral part of my day, so much so that I schedule my day around it if I can and will go pretty much no matter what the weather is (this morning I ran in a major thunderstorm). I come home from that to shower and start my "real" day of work.

During the rest of the day I drink a ton of water and vitamin water (to the point I can go through about 3-4 cases of water a week). Usually in the afternoon I will make a pot of coffee depending on my day. I don't drink alcohol except the occasional happy hour and absolutely no soda or similar beverages in over 4 years. I also quit smoking 3 years ago after 20+ years and that has helped enormously.

I try to break the day up into 1 hour work segments. I will focus on one thing for an hour. I stop and go for a walk for about 5-10 minutes around the block. Come back and start something new for an hour. Rinse and repeat. If I need to finish something I will alternate between working on the project for an hour and coming back. Obviously if it is super urgent I will deviate, but doing it this way helps keep my mind/eyes fresh. Some days I will take a 45 minute nap about 3 or 4.

I used to not eat lunch, but now I try to eat a big lunch and small dinner. This helped my energy enormously and I sleep better. I have always been a night person, but have been forcing myself to go to bed before midnight for the last year. If I sleep less than 4 hours I notice and if I sleep more than 6 I notice the difference in my productivity. I also try to sleep in 45 minute segments. Someone once told me that your body sleep rhythm is 45 minutes and if you sleep on a 45 minute schedule you sleep better. Not sure if it is true for everyone, but for me at least it seems to work. Maybe it is a placebo effect, but whatever. :)

Usually in a day I can get between 8-10 hours of good work in. I also find it takes me less time to do things so the 80 hour work week is reduced simply because I am more productive. Not to say everyday is perfect and falls inline with this routine, but the more I try to focus on keeping the routine the better I am overall. I also try to socialize as much as possible. Socializing in itself can be hugely beneficial to your productivity and overall happiness. My socializing consists of simple things like walking around the block and stopping to talk with a neighbor, my morning Starbucks run, or just hanging out with my girlfriend or family, only about once a month, if even that, do I go out to happy hour to socialize.

[sharemywin]

I think creative fields are more of a quality not quantity type of endeavor. I was reading recently about becoming world class at something and it's not just about 10k hours but 10k hours being challenged usually by a teacher or mentor. 10k hours practicing at things your already good at won't cut it.

[welder]

Maybe https://wakatime.com would provide more motivation than RescueTime since it's specific to programming and design (with a Sketch plugin).